Curating Heritage in the Digital Age: An Exploration of How America’s National Heritage Areas Are Using Technology to Share Their Stories

Research Question This capstone project answers the following two primary research questions: 1) how are America’s National Heritage Areas (NHAs) using technology to share their stories, and 2) what types of information are NHAs using technology to share? Additional secondary research questions are outlined in the Methodology section. Data Source Primary data was collected from the websites and social media accounts of each of the forty-eight active NHAs in the United States as of April 2018. Methodology Systematic observational content analysis of the websites and social media accounts was conducted by the author. Two rating schemes were developed to assess the level of activity on four social media platforms. The number of followers/subscribers to each account was also recorded. Additionally, website content was examined to determine which, if any, of ten pre-determined technologies each NHA uses to share its stories. Basic quantitative analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel. Key Findings Analysis of the data resulted in the the following key findings: All but one NHA have Facebook pages; however, only 48% (23) of them use it ‘very actively’; There is a positive correlation between an NHA’s level of activity on Facebook or Instagram and the number of followers each account has; Eighty-five percent of NHAs use at least one of the ten pre-determined technologies to share their stories; and, The three most common technologies are photo galleries, interactive maps, and videos. Recommendations The following management recommendations are offered to NHAs: create accounts on all four social media platforms, stay active, grow audiences on each; cross-promote content and share others’ content; there is no need to reinvent the wheel; invite community participation through photo contests, sharing personal stories, etc.; use other technologies to engage new audiences that are less inclined to read at length; seek partnerships with tourism agencies and educational institutions to share resources; assess costs and intended uses of a technology before embarking on a project; and, develop marketing strategies for any content created

ANX(r): An EDI Standard In Search Of A Business Model

As a response to strong competitive pressures, the automotive industry has actively employed Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in communication between suppliers and carmakers. This paper reviews the recent development of ANX® a COIN (Community of Interest Network) intended to provide industry wide connectivity. The authors identify roadblocks to the success of the standard

Metabolic engineering of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in plants using different △6-and △5-desaturases co-expressed with LPCAT from the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Continuous research on obtaining an even more efficient production of very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) in plants remains one of the main challenges of scientists working on plant lipids. Since crops are not able to produce these fatty acids due to the lack of necessary enzymes, genes encoding them must be introduced exogenously from native organisms producing VLC-PUFAs. In this study we reported, in tobacco leaves, the characterization of three distinct triangle(6)-desaturases from diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, fungi Rhizopus stolonifer and microalge Osterococcus tauri and two different triangle(5)-desaturases from P. tricornutum and single-celled saprotrophic eukaryotes Thraustochytrium sp. The in planta agroinfiltration of essential triangle(6)-desaturases, triangle(6)-elongases and triangle(5)-desaturases allowed for successful introduction of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5(triangle 5,8,11,14,17)) biosynthesis pathway. However, despite the desired, targeted production of omega 3-fatty acids we detected the presence of omega 6-fatty acids, indicating and confirming previous results that all tested desaturases are not specifically restricted to neither omega 3- nor omega 6-pathway. Nevertheless, the additional co-expression of acyl-CoA:lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase (LPCAT) from Phaeodactylum tricornutum boosted the proportion of omega 3-fatty acids in newly synthesized fatty acid pools. For the most promising genes combinations the EPA content reached at maximum 1.4% of total lipid content and 4.5% of all fatty acids accumulated in the TAG pool. Our results for the first time describe the role of LPCAT enzyme and its effectiveness in alleviating a bottleneck called 'substrate dichotomy' for improving the transgenic production of VLC-PUFAs in plants

Policy acceptance of low-consumption governance approaches: the effect of social norms and hypocrisy

Tackling over-consumption of resources and associated emissions at the lifestyle level will be crucial to climate change mitigation. Understanding the public acceptability of policy aimed at behaviour change in this domain will help to focus strategy towards effective and targeted solutions. Across two studies (n = 259, 300) we consider how policy approaches at different levels of governance (individual, community, and national) might be influenced by the inducement of hypocrisy and the activation of social norms. We also examine the influence of these experimental manipulations upon behavioural intention to reduce consumption (e.g., repair not replace, avoiding luxuries). Dynamic social norm framing was unsuccessful in producing an effect on policy acceptance or intentions to reduce consumption. Information provision about the impact of individual consumption on global climate change increased support for radical policies at the national level (banning environmentally harmful consumption practices) and the community level (working fewer hours, sharing material products, collaborative food cultivation), yet the inducement of hypocrisy had no additional effect. This is in contrast to individual-level behavioural intentions, where the inducement of hypocrisy decreased intentions to engage in high-consumption behaviour. This paper concludes with implications for low-consumption governance